State Department Slammed as Thousands of Americans Are Left Stranded Abroad

A State Department official said Wednesday that as many as 50,000 Americans are stuck in other countries due to coronavirus-related travel restrictions.

The Department has pledged to get as many citizens home as possible, but many are frustrated by inconsistent communication and lack of responses.

Americans in Peru are facing many issues in particular and have resorted to forming their own communication channels to maintain adequate updates.

Politicians have also spoken out about their frustration with the State Department, accusing them of not doing enough and reacting too slowly.

Thousands of Americans Stuck

As the coronavirus pandemic escalates, many nations have been put on lockdown and thousands of flights have been cancelled as a result, leaving many stranded in foreign countries. According to the U.S. State Department, as many as 50,000 Americans are stuck overseas, trying to return home.

A State Department official said Wednesday that it has brought about 9,000 Americans home from 28 countries since the beginning of the outbreak, and plans to bring at least 9,000 more back in the next week or so on chartered flights.

“Our posts around the world have received requests for assistance for getting back to the United States from over 50,000 U.S. citizens,” Ian Brownlee, who runs the Department’s repatriation task force, told reporters. “And we’re committed to bringing home as many Americans as we possibly can.”

But the commitment hasn’t been totally reassuring, and many Americans have felt frustrated by the lack of communication and help from the U.S. government. Some have even taken matters into their own hands through measures like riskily crossing the border from Guatemala to Mexico and bringing money to pay off customs officials, according to reports from Politico.

Brownlee says the Department has not been getting a heads up about border closes and flight cancellations, leaving them overwhelmed. He also said that vulnerable populations, like the sick and elderly, are given priority on limited flights. U.S. officials have been urging Americans to return home if they’re not ready to remain overseas for an extended period of time.

Trapped in Peru

The situation is arguably the worst for those stuck in Peru, a nation that is now on lockdown and has closed its international borders in attempts to curb the spread of the deadly virus. The country closed its international airport in Lima on Sunday.

“There were some [COVID19] infections in the civil aviation authority and on the civilian side of the airport and they’re trying to run it on a bit of a shoestring from the military side of the airport,” Brownlee told NPR.

Because the situation intensified so quickly, many were unable to get home before this shutdown. On Twitter, the hashtag #stuckinPeru has been making its rounds.

Information from the U.S. government has been conflicting. Last week, the Pentagon said it would fly military aircraft to retrieve Americans in Peru, but the trip was canceled and reconsidered.

According to State Department officials, the Peruvian government denied permission for two U.S. chartered flights to land on Tuesday. Earlier this week, an American Airlines plane was actually on its way to retrieve Americans stranded in Lima, but had to turn around mid-way after the Peruvian government refused to give it permission to land, according to Politico.

Many are upset by the absence of help from the U.S. government.

“We are being held hostage here, and we don’t know by whom or why,” said Michael Katz, a New York resident stranded in Cusco, told The Wall Street Journal. “The State Department is completely useless and totally incompetent.”

Others have compared America’s failed repatriation efforts to the successes of other countries.

Thousands of Americans stranded in Peru's coronavirus lockdown watched as countries like Mexico, Colombia, France and Israel quickly got their people out. All we got from our embassy for five days were unanswered phones and automated email responses. https://t.co/FOtSIQLdhn

PLEASE PRESIDENT TRUMP . COME GET US OUT OF PERU. I LANDED HERE ONLY 1 DAY BEFORE THE CLOSURE. ISRAELI CAME AND GOT THEIR PEOPLE AND TODAY THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT IS GETTING THEIRS. HOW CAN WE BE LESS IMPORTANT? #stuckinPeru@realDonaldTrump

To combat their frustration, citizens have taken their own measures to try to spread accurate information, like making a Facebook page called “Americans Stuck in Peru.” The group has almost 5,000 members.

U.S. politicians have also placed blame on the State Department for failing to get everybody home.

“#AmericansStuckInPeru is due to lack [of] urgency by some in mid-level of @StateDept,” Sen Marco Rubio tweeted on Tuesday. “We didn’t need you to ‘track’ this, we needed you to solve this.”

Frustrations with State Department Continue

Rubio wasn’t the only senator to speak out about the State Department’s inability to get every American stuck abroad home. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, pointed fingers at the department as well.

“If this administration, including Secretary Pompeo and his senior leadership team, had taken the coronavirus threat seriously and planned ahead, we may have been able to avoid some of the confusion and chaos Americans abroad encountered,” Menendez told Politico. “Unfortunately, that simply did not happen. As a result, the State Department now has to try to catch up and make up for lost time.”

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has faced heat in particular. Over the weekend, he tweeted a photo of his wife at home as they did a puzzle together, and Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego had a heated reply.

“I have constituents stuck overseas can you get off your ass and get them home?” Gallego wrote.

On Thursday, Pompeo defended the official efforts to bring Americans home.

“There’s still a lot of work to do. We’ve got a lot of people who are trying to get back this way, and with travel shut down in many of these countries without any notice or little notice, there’s still a major undertaking,” Pompeo told radio host Hugh Hewitt.

“But the team has mashaled the resources. It’s an airlift back home like we’ve not seen in an awfully long time, and I’m really proud of the way our team has responded,” Pompeo said.

Police Are Looking for a Cyclist Who Assaulted a Group Posting George Floyd Flyers

Viral video shows a cyclist in Maryland assaulting a group of young people who were posing flyers about George Floyd’s murder.

Though internet users and some news outlets reported that one person assaulted was a child, one anonymous victim has clarified that all three are adults.

Authorities have asked the public to help identify the cyclist but warned against posting tips publicly after one man was falsely accused of the crime.

As of Friday morning, authorities say they have found one strong suspect.

The Viral Video

Authorities in Maryland are asking the public for assistance in identifying a cyclist who was caught on video assaulting three young adults as they posted flyers demanding justice for George Floyd.

The incident took place on the Capital Crescent Tail in Montgomery County on June 1, and a cell phone video of what happened was later shared online.

The video begins with the cyclist, who appears to be a white male, approaching one young woman with a flyer already in his hand. “Get away from me,” she tells him.

“Hey leave her alone,” the person behind the camera shouts. But the cyclist quickly turns around and heads towards a different woman as the first woman yells, “Do not touch her! Do not touch her! She has nothing! Do not touch her!”

The man grabs the second woman’s wrist and aggressively pulls a roll of tape off her arm as she tries to resist. The first woman then appears on screen pushing him away and yelling, “Hey, get off of her!”

When the person filming tells him to leave, the cyclist grabs his bike and charges towards him. The man recording runs before dropping the cell phone. From there, the cyclist is heard saying, “You want it? Give it to me,” as the fallen individual replies, “There’s the tape.”

Cameraman Speaks Out

“He was just cycling down the trail,” the victim recording, who wished to remain anonymous, told Path.com.

“He videoed us on his first pass by, then stopped about 50 feet passed us and asked to see my signs, in a friendly tone. When I went to show him the signs he ripped them out of my hands and then started to go after my friends. That’s when I started recording.”

Speaking anonymously once again, that victim told NBC Washington that the cyclist rammed him with his bike and pinned him to the ground. He also told the outlet that all three victims, including two 19-year-old women, are adults, despite reports from internet users and news outlets claiming one was a child.

“Honestly, I was mostly scared for my friends,” he told Patch. “While I’m young, I’m not a tiny person and I can defend myself if need be … my friends that I was with are both small women and to have a large man approach them and physically rip things out of their hands is quite terrifying, and they were both pretty shaken up after.”

According to some reports, the anonymous cameraman posted the footage on Reddit. Though it cannot be confirmed if the Reddit user is the same person who spoke to reporters, they shared a similar explanation about what lead up the incident online.

That user also posted a photo of the flyer the group was allegedly hanging up, which reads: “Killer Cops Will Not Go Free – Text ‘Floyd to 55156.’”

Reddit: Flabbadabbadooh

Authorities Ask for Help

Park Police tweeted a post on June 2, asking the public for identifying information, along with the number for the detective on the case.

After the footage spread across social media, many began trying to help. As a result, a Bethesda man named Peter Weinberg was accused of being the man responsible for the attack. That’s because users found evidence that he had biked the trail on May 31 and June 2, however as police later clarified, the incident took place on June 1.

Internet users began tweeting at his employer and sharing his LinkedIn information. Then, Weinberg issued a statement Thursday saying he had been “misidentified in connection with a deeply disturbing attack.”

I recently learned I have been misidentified in connection with a deeply disturbing attack. Please know this was not me. I have been in touch with the authorities and will continue to help any way possible.

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh also asked that the public help identify the cyclist, however, after seeing Weinberg be falsely accused online, he asked people to share their tips to authorities instead of posting them online. “Hundreds of thousands of bikers, myself included, use this path,” he warned.

Please, folks, give your info to the Park Police, States Attorney John McCarthy or my office. But don’t post. Hundreds of thousands of bikers, myself included, use this path. https://t.co/6Ul55QFaY8

Many on social media continued to make accusations, eventually spreading a rumor that the cyclist is a former Montgomery County police officer. By Friday afternoon, however, the department released a statement calling that claim false.

Reports circulating on social media referencing a former MCPD employee as being the suspect in the Capital Crescent trail assault are false. Additional information is forthcoming from the Maryland National Capital Park Police who are heading the investigation.

Video shared on social media shows police officers in Buffalo, New York pushing an elderly protestor to the ground, causing blood to pour out from his ear and pool beneath his head.

The video contradicted an earlier statement from the department that said the man tripped and fell.

After the footage went viral, two officers involved were suspended without paypending an investigation.

The injured man is still in serious but stable condition as of Friday morning, but is said to be “alert and oriented.”

Update: The entire Buffalo Police Department Emergency Response Team has reportedly resigned from the voluntary assignment as a “show of support and disgust” over the suspensions. The 57 officers are still members of the police department.

Video Appears Online

Two police officers in Buffalo, New York were suspended without pay Thursday after video showed them pushing an elderly man to the ground.

The incident happened during a demonstration in Niagara Square, where people gathered to call for racial justice since the killing of Geroge Floyd.

In a clip filmed by WBFO, a local radio station, a 75-year-old man approaches officers to speak with them. An officer can be heard repeatedly yelling, “push him back.” Around the same time, one officer pushes his arm into the man’s chest, while another extends his baton toward him, gripping it with both hands.

Their shove sends the man backward, causing him to land onto the sidewalk. Though he lands out of the camera’s view, a loud thud can be heard as he hits the ground.

When the camera angles toward him, blood immediately begins to pool beneath his head, seeming to stream down from his right ear. The officer who used his baton to push him leans down to examine the hurt man, but another officer forces him to continue moving forward.

The injured man remained motionless on the floor as dozens of officers continued to walk forward and arrest other protesters. One remained near the man, calling for assistance on his radio.

Video Contradicts Police Statement

Around the same time that WBFO shared its video of the incident on Twitter, WKBW reporter Jeff Ruso pointed to a statement from the Buffalo Police Department. In it, the department said it arrested five people at the demonstration, adding that during a “skirmish involving protestors, one person was injured when he tripped & fell.”

A BPD spokesperson released this update. Five people were arrested and another person was injured during a protest in Niagara Square tonight. @WKBWpic.twitter.com/UZoDsSRs4J

“After days of peaceful protests and several meetings between myself, police leadership and members of the community, tonight’s event is disheartening,” he said.

While some applauded the swift action taken to address the situation, the incident added to the distrust in police felt by many across the nation. As some pointed out, officers likely wouldn’t have faced consequences had it not been for the video recordings.

In two hours, Buffalo Police have gone from “tripped and fell” to two officers suspended without pay. What would have been the result if there wasn’t cell phone video?

As far as the injured man, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz tweeted Friday morning that a hospital official said the man was “alert and oriented.” He is still in stable but serious condition.

New update on the 75 year old man injured during last night's BPD incident: he is still in serious but stable condition at the Erie County Medical Center and, as was relayed to me by an ECMC official, he is "alert and oriented." That is better news. Let's hope he fully recovers.

Some Health Officials Think Protests Are Worth the Risk, Even as Cases are Expected to Spike

COVID-19 cases in the U.S. are rising, and while some outlets have indicated this could be because of protests, it is too soon to tell what kind of impact these marches have had on case growth.

The new spikes are likely linked to cities and states reopening. Still, most health experts think that because social distancing is near impossible in protesting crowds, the country will see an increase of cases in the next few weeks tied to the protests.

But that does not mean all health officials are against the protests. Many believe protesting for racial equality is worth the risk.

Some say that because COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted Black communities, the protests are especially important so people can fight against the racial injustice that caused this.

COVID-19 Case Growth

With coronavirus cases on the rise, some have been quick to blame the recent nationwide protests in response to the murder of George Floyd. However, experts note that it’s actually too soon to tie the demonstrations as the cause of cause of the surge.

Some officials believe protest-related surges are on the way, but some still think protesting is worth the risk.

On Monday, Johns Hopkins reported over 21,188 new cases of coronavirus in one day across the United States. While this is slightly lower, though essentially on par with last week’s daily average of 21,294 cases, it is part of a general trend of daily averages increasing.

Between May 26 and May 28 the average was 19,800 new cases. This figure went up to 21,700 new cases per day between May 30 and June 1.

While some outlets correlated this case spike with the recent protests across the country, the protests have only been going on for around a week. Experts like Mark Shrime, a public-health researcher at Harvard, told The Atlantic that while he anticipates a spike eventually, we will not see it for ten to 14 days because of COVID-19’s long incubation period.

In some places, experts are not anticipating the data on cases to reflect the protests for even longer, including Southern California, which may not see protests-related coronavirus cases in health department data for another three or four weeks.

Ties to Stay At Home Orders Ending

Some believe that this slew of cases could likely be tied to local government’s decisions to reopen in May. Palm Beach County in Florida showed the biggest one-day increase in coronavirus cases three weeks after reopening. While the South Florida Sun Sentinel says it may be too soon to tell if that’s the cause, it does mark an increase in the average number of cases being reported.

States like Texas and Arizona have also started to end their stay at home orders and have seen resulting spikes. According to KPNX in Arizona, three weeks after their order was phased out, the state saw one of the fastest-growing caseloads in the country, with a 70% increase after things reopened.

Some health officials, like Julia Marcus, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School, anticipated the fact that the public would blame spikes on the protests, instead of the fact that states elected to ease lockdown restrictions.

“What I fear will happen, particularly in those states, is that any increase in cases in the next couple of weeks will be blamed on protestors,” she toldThe Verge, even though, “There are multiple things happening at the same time.”

Because social distancing in these protest crowds is nearly impossible, health officials do believe a spike is coming. Many protesters are doing their best to mitigate risks by wearing masks, and spread could also be lessened because these protests are outside. Still, tight spaces and the use of tear gas, which causes coughing, could aid the virus’ ability to travel.

Why Some Health Officials Support Protests Despite Risk

Still, many health officials and activists think protesting is worth the risk.

“I personally believe that these particular protests—which demand justice for black and brown bodies that have been brutalized by the police—are a necessary action,” Maimuna Majumdera computational epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital, told The Atlantic. “Structural racism has been a public-health crisis for much longer than the pandemic has.”

“The threat to Covid control from protesting outside is tiny compared to the threat to Covid control created when governments act in ways that lose community trust,” tweeted Dr. Tom Frieden.

The threat to Covid control from protesting outside is tiny compared to the threat to Covid control created when governments act in ways that lose community trust. People can protest peacefully AND work together to stop Covid. Violence harms public health.

While the major focus of these protests is to demand justice for George Floyd and an end to police violence against Black Americans, they are also calling for an end to racial injustice of all kinds. Among the many other injustices Black Americans face includes a higher coronavirus death rate than white Americans.

In Washington D.C., where 46% of the population is African American, they account for 75% of the district’s deaths. In Wisconsin, where less than 7% of the state’s residents are Black, they total 25% percent of the state’s deaths. Numerous other states and cities are also experiencing the same problem.

“So many black communities are protesting because they have to,” said Doctor Mike in Wednesday video. “At a time of a pandemic, when they’re not only putting their lives on the line because of police injustice but also because of this virus. And COVID-19 has already dramatically and drastically affected communities of color disproportionately to other communities.

Impact of COVID-19 on Black Americans

Multiple factors contribute to this high death rate. African Americans are systemically under treated by the U.S. healthcare systems. Black Americans are more likely to have underlying conditions like high blood pressure, are less likely to be insured, and are more frequently denied access to testing and treatment. Throughout the pandemic, Black and Hispanic workers have also been less likely to work from home, further increasing their potential exposure to the virus.

“Unless we are out there protesting in the streets, we can either be killed by Covid-19 just as easily as we can be killed by a cop,” Minneapolis activist Mike Griffin told Bloomberg.

Marcus echoed the need for the protests.

“Ultimately, these protests, if they bring us any semblance of progress in terms of structural racism — they will have had a positive impact on public health, not a negative one,” she told The Verge.

Others are still concerned about the potential consequences. Surgeon General Jerome Adams told Politico that he understands the anger behind these protests and why people are out there, but still has his fears.

“I remain concerned about the public health consequences both of individual and institutional racism [and] people out protesting in a way that is harmful to themselves and to their communities,” Adams said.

“There is going to be a lot to do after this, even to try and get the communities of color back to where they need to be for people to be able to recover from Covid, and for people to be able to recover from the shutdown and to be able to prosper,” he continued.